Ramp for docking seaplanes



March 31, 1970 w. FERRIS 3,

I RAMP FOR DOCKING 'SEAPLANES Filed April 27, 1959;

, TRAVELLING STRUT TRAVELLING ROLLER FOR STEADYING |8 2 FIG. 2

TRAVELLING STRUT-L- FOR STEADYING COMPRESSED 2 2 AIR SOURCE LAURENCE W. FERRIS INVENTOR.

I4 BY ATTORNEYS BALLAST BALLAST TANK TANK FIG.5

United States Patent US. Cl. 11443.5 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A docking ramp for an aircraft for utilization in conjunction with a surface ship having a floodable well deck. The ramp and ship system is provided with facilities for extension and retraction of the ramp relative to the well deck and when extended for boarding usage by the aircraft is disposed in an inclined relationship relative to the surface of the body of water. The upper surface of the ramp is provided with a plurality of longitudinally disposed fins or ribs which are tapered to provide deep V-shaped grooves between adjacent ribs.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

The present invention relates to improvements in terminal equipment for seaplanes and more particularly to an improved ramp on which a plane may come to rest, which ramp with the plane aboard may then be moved into the flooded well deck of a surface ship or other stable platform.

Anyone who has witnessed the docking of a seaplane in the flooded well deck of a dock ship realizes that it is a slow tedious process substantially limited to good weather conditions because the plane is stopped dead in the water and then pulled into place by a multitude of lines with assistance from small boats during which time very little wind can be tolerated with safety.

A principal object of the invention is to provide a ramp with which a seaplane may be safely transited from water support to solid support.

In accordance with the present invention a ramp which can be extended out from and pulled back into the open end of a well deck is provided with a soft surface and so constructed that it lies in an inclined position with its outer end far enough below the surface of the water to clear the hull of a plane taxiing onto the ramp but can quickly be raised as soon as the plane comes to rest thereby removing the plane from ensuing wave action. The provision of such an arrangement is an object of the invention.

In the preferred form of the invention described herein the tread surface of the ramp comprises a plurality of longitudinally extending fins or ribs of greater height than width and tapering outwardly from their tread ends to form V-shaped grooves between adjacent ribs to permit lateral flexing thereof. Ribs thus constructed of suitable resilient material will flex under load into contact with and receive support from adjacent ribs whereby the ribs are capable of sustaining the loads to which they are subjected without collapsing, i.e., they have sufficient cushion effect to prevent bottoming.

Also in accordance with the invention means are provided for temporarily supporting the wings of the plane after it has come to rest on the ramp to thereby stabilize it while the ramp is being pulled into the well deck and additional means are provided for elevating the plane clear of the ramp after it has been pulled home. Accord- 2' ingly, it is an object of the invention to provide such means for safely docking a seaplane in a well deck.

The invention itself, as well as other objects and advantages thereof, will be understood from the following description of the accompanying drawing in'which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a ramp in extended position from a vessel and upon which a seaplane is coming to rest; I

FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG. 1 with certain details omitted;

FIG. 3 is a rear view of a plane on the ramp and with steadying struts in position; I

FIG. 4 is a phantom view of a plane in its final stowage position; and

FIG. 5 shows diagrammatically an arrangement for;

blowing ballast tanks to raise the after end of the ramp.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 a seaplane landing structure comprises an elongated box-shaped ramp 10 secured at one end to a stable platform here shown as being the aft end of the flooded well deck 11 of a suitable surface. vessel, such as an LSD type of ship, and having its distal end submerged to a depth somewhat greater than the draft of any seaplane 12 which is to land thereon. The top surface of the ramp 10 is made soft and resilient and preferably comprises a plurality of deep, evenly spaced fins or ribs 13 of rubberlike material alined longitudinally of the ramp 10. The ramp 10 is preferably constructed with a distributed buoyancy such that when ballast tanks 14 provided in its distal end are flooded it will ride at the desired angle indicated in FIG. 1 so as to receive a plane 12 taxiing thereon and when the ballast tanks 14 are blown the ramp 10 will rise to give sufiicient positive support to the plane 12 to secure it against being shifted by ensuing wave action.

As shown in FIG. 5 the ballast tanks 14 are selectively connectable through valves 15 to vents 16 and to a source of compressed air 17 for flooding and blowing, respectively, the tanks 14. With this arrangement as soon as the plane 12 has come to rest on the ramp 10 the valves 15 can be turned to connect the air source 17 to blow the ballast tanks 14 and thereby quickly raise the plane above effective wave action.

Mounted for movement along each longitudinal edge of the ramp 10 are travelling struts 18 which are movable to position under the wings 19 of the plane 12 after it has come to rest. These struts '18 provide a steadying effect for laterally stabilizing the plane while it is moved with the ramp 10 into the well 11 of the ship. For this latter purpose the forward end of the ramp 10 may be provided with rollers 21 adapted to extend into and travel along guide channels 22 carried by the side walls of the well deck 11 of the ship when the ramp 10 is hauled into the well deck by a cable 23 provided for that purpose. The stern edge of the well deck 11 is provided with rollers 24, which may be loaded by springs 25, to protect the under surface of the ramp 10 and facilitate its movement thereover.

As shown in FIG. 4 the hull forming the side walls of the deck well 11 have inside decks 26 which support hydraulic jacks 27 for actuating suitable rams 28 to raise supporting pads 29 against the under surfaces of the wings 19 to lift the plane 12 from the ramp 10 and support it in its final stowage position.

By making the ramp 10 considerably wider than the hull of the plane 12 extreme accuracy in alining the plane with the centerline of the ramp is not required inasmuch as the functioning of the ribs 13 is uniform across the ramp 10. The use of longitudinal ribs for the soft resilient surface of the ramp 10 is preferred because they tend to constrain to a parallel course a body sliding thereon and also tend to straighten into true longitudinal direction the Patented Mar. 31, 1970 n f. a p an land n them. 9 at small an r m the centerline of the ribs 13.

Although for the purpose of disclosing the invention there has been described in detail a preferred embodiment utilizing a surface ship as a terminal for a seaplane, it is to be understood that the novel ramp of the invention may be otherwise employed as in connection with a stable wharf or other docking facility. Also from the foregoing description it will be evident to those skilled in the art that many modificationsimay be made in the disclosed terminal equipment without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is: v

1. In seaplane terminal equipment, an elongated ramp up which a seaplane may taxi, said ramp having a soft resilient upper surface of rubberlike material containing a plurality of longitudinally extending V-shaped grooves of greater depth than width, the material between said grooves comprising ribs which under load deflect laterally into support receiving engagement with adjacent ribs.

2. In a device of the class described, an elongated ramp up which a seaplane may taxi, said ramp having on its tread surface a plurality of flexible ribs of greater height than width disposed longitudinally of the ramp, said ribs tapering outwardly from their tread ends and being flexible laterally under deforming stresses to derive support from engagement with an adjacent rib while capable collectively of sustaining the loads to which they are subjected in use Without collapsing.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner 20 THOMAS H. WEBB, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. l14--61, 73 

